Stay tuned...

I have gone shopping...

for professional clothing.

Pictures coming soon.

5 Miles Per Hour is REALLY fast...

...when you are running on a treadmill.

Yes, you guessed it...I have been getting back to the gym routinely again. I have learned a few things this time around:

1. You do not have run as fast as the skinny chick on the next treadmill over.
2. The music on your ipod makes all the difference in the world when staying motivated.
3. If you haven't been to gym in over 6 months, you probably can't run the first day back.
4. Gym clothes get really smelly...really fast.
5 . This is the most important one...the best way to keep going each day is to go DIRECTLY from work. If I try to go home first, I get distracted by the good smelling guy and the blue glow on the television, and most of all...the oh so gentle call of the couch.

What is your #1 lesson from the gym lately?

BBQ Chicken...in January

Do you ever watch the Food Network?

I do probably more than I should. Really.

On Saturday I was flipping through the bazillion channels I have to chose from and couldn't find anything to watch. Sooooo, I flipped over the food network. (It's like an old friend...an old standby to me.) To my delight, Paula Deen's show was on. So, naturally, I watched. The entire episode was about Tailgate foods.

I am not a tailgater, so I thought this might be a waste of time. Then, I heard "Bar-B-Que Chicken" and my brain got stuck on those three words. So, I listened.

Paula's son made a homemade BBQ sauce and then baked chicken dredged with the stuff. It looked soooooo good. So, in about half a second, I decided we were going to try it. I gathered all the ingredients (which I already had most of it!) and prepped. Last night we had it and, let me tell you, it was well worth the time. If you like BBQ of any kind and miss it in the winter this is DEFINITELY a recipe you should try. (Let me know how you like it!) Here's a link to the recipe or you can follow below:

(Incidentally, she also made beer brats, toffee brownies, and onion rings with chili sauce in this episode....)
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Ingredients:
1 Cup Ketsup
2 TBSP orange juice
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 (3 1/2 pound) chicken cut into 8 pieces OR
8-10 chicken thighs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F or prepare the grill grate lightly with oil.
2. In large bowl, stir all ingredients together, except chicken. Reserve about 1/3 cup of the BBQ sauce and set aside. Add the chicken to the remaining sauce in the bowl, turning to coat.
3. Arrange teh coated chicken in a roasting pan or on the grill. Cook (covered, if grilling) for 40-45 minutes or until cooked through, basting with the reserved 1/3 cup sauce after 20 minutes.

Updates

Last week we got our packet to update our profile with the adoption agency. That means it has been a year since we started the interviews with our caseworker. It is amazing how fast a year can go! Keep us in your prayers as we renew our profile documents to be sure they reflect who we are and how we really feel about things. We would really appreciate it.

Wii Venture

Sooooo, we are now on the Wii bandwagon. I know, I know...we are WAAAAY behind everyone else. Anyway, here's the story:

We have been wanting a wii for some time and finally we just decided to throw caution to the wind and get one. So...we called our local sellers and they were sold out! So, we called the next closest city...sold out. IN. ALL. THE. STORES! So, we checked online at every vendor we could think of...SOLD OUT! The next day (Jan. 1) Drew started calling around...he called a town 1 hour away...then an hour and half away...and then 2 hours away...and they were all sold out. The coup de gras is a vendor 3 hours away from our home. They had ONE Wii, but could not hold it for us. We weighed the pros and cons of traveling three hours from home.

The cons:
-gas wasted
-time possibly wasted
-a day potentially wasted

The pros:
-can eat at Olive Garden (yummmmmm)
-get to spend time together
-could...on a fluke...obtain a Wii

So...we went. And we missed said Wii by 5 minutes, people. 5 stinkin' minutes.
We ate at the Olive Garden.
We drove home.
We laughed and enjoyed one anothers company.

The next day Drew was telling a co-worker what we had done the day before. His co-worker says "OH, I wish you said something before. I have a friend that bought a Wii a few months ago, played it once or twice, and realized they didn't want it. They have had signs all over the place trying to sell it!" Drew called me and I said "Take it!" So he did. And...we have our Wii. The people completely rewrapped everything and placed it back in the box exactly how it came when it was brand new.

So, then we bought another Wii remote. and a Nunchuck. And...Guitar Hero.

Oh yes we did.

And, just so you know... I Rock on Guitar Hero!

Virus

So, 2 weeks ago now we learned that our home PC had a virus on it. We updated our antivirus software and it didn't clean it out. So, Drew took it the Computer guys and gals at the University and they cleaned all the viruses out, but couldn't get the speed back. They told him it was a Trojan Horse Virus and that it may have hurt the hard drive. Sooooo...we took it home and tried to wipe the computer clean (which took hours and we were unsuccessful) because we thought we could reuse that computer...just clean it and start over.

Anyway, a coworker of mine was telling her husband about our computer situation and he wasn't really listening to her. She was talking and he kept saying "uh huh....uh huh..." (you know when someone's not really listening, right? Then the following exchange ensued:

Coworker: So they got a trojan horse virus on the computer and are trying to clean it and reuse.
Husband: Hey, you better tell them that they can't reuse those Trojans.
Coworker: What?
Husband: You can't clean and reuse those Trojans...they break and won't keep a virus out!
Coworker: What are you talking about?
Husband: What are you talking about?
Coworker: You weren't REALLY listening to me, were you?

Then she explained AGAIN what she had said and he asked her "Are you going to tell Frances about this?" YUP and I'm sharing it here for you and may you laugh as hard as we did.

PS...We were FINALLY able to find someone who completely fixed our computer to full working order and that is a true blessing!

Veteran's Day

Today is Veterans Day and, I will admit to you, that in the past I have dismissed this day from a lack of understanding the true weight of the honor that SHOULD be given this day. No one really ever explained it to me as a child and I did not have a grandfather, father, or uncle that ever fought in battle...that told me about it. A few years ago Drew shared some moving thoughts at church the Sunday before Memorial Day. His heartfelt words about honoring the veterans that have gone into danger on my behalf...and yours...because of their commitment to the United States and all it stands for forever changed me. He spoke of days gone by when stores closed on the Memorial Day to honor those and how most of us now just view such a day as a free holiday to have a cookout with family. Does this address the heart of the day? Veterans Day is another such day...a day of honor. A day that deserves respect and a moment's pause to remember. On this morning, I take a few minutes to pause and think of the Veterans I now know in my adult life. All three of them having fought in different wars...and all three of them so deserving of my respect. I am able to live without fear in country frought with freedoms because of the sacrifices willingly given by our soldiers throughout our country's history. I encourage you to just take time today to thank a Veteran, or send a card to a current soldier. Their sacrifice is worthy of a few minutes of your time, isn't it?

To do...

Today I have so many things to get done. Did I tell you that we are getting a new porch? I didn't?! We are. It's not really a NEW porch...it's a redo of an existing porch. Our floorboards, stringers, and framework is all, basically, rotted out. SOOOOO....it's NOVEMBER and we are having our porch ripped out and a new one put in. I will take pictures so you can see it. Anyway, I have a lot on my to do list today...let's see...it includes (but is not limited to):

-sweeping the floors
-mopping the floors
-about 700 loads of laundry
-move the 5 large pumpkins off the porch
-make my Amish Friendship bread
-make a pumpkin pie...from a real pumpkin
-clean the kitchen
-go to the pharmacy
-price new mailboxes

I guess I better get going...that's quite a list! I hope you are having a productive Saturday yourself!